Hi,
My son is 17 weeks old and has 3 or 4 30 to 45 minute naps a day. I had the BW book from the start and everything went smoothly until he was 12 weeks old (and naps became an issue). We are on a 3.5 hour easy day that does not start at a consistent time ( I realize that this is part of the problem). I am consistent with his bedtime of 7:30, if he lasts that long (routine starts at 7 pm). He gets up at 10 pm, 2 pm and 6 pm to breastfeed.
My questions are as follows:
1) How long should I wait until I put him down in the morning? Often he is fussy 30 minutes after he is up for the day.
2) I use to do shush pat for 30 minutes to an hour. We both cried due to frustration and that's when I started to lose faith in the BW. I was taking the approach that I need to get him down consistently for naps and decided to wait to fix the 45 minute nap issue. When I put him down, he never looks drowsey but decides to get all excited and try to engage me. I think that this is the reason why shush pat does not work for me anymore. I do not have the heart for CIO but I decided to put him down with a lovey and leave the room to see what would happen. He fusses a bit and I return every once and a while to rub his back for a minute or so. It still takes 30 minutes to a hour but neither of us gets frustrated or cries. I tried PU/PD but he does not settle , instead he gets more and more upset. Should I continue with what I am doing or is there some other way to get him to fall asleep easier? I have a dehumidifier in his room for white noise and his windows have cardboard over them. I tried accidental parenting (rocking, walking, breastfeeding) and that does not work either.
3) At the moment, I put him down when I first notice he is tired. Should I try to put him down before that time after tracking his tired times for a few days?
Any advice would be appreciated!